A gymnastic vaulting horse is comprised of an elongated elevated substantially stiff padded body mounted on a supporting stand. Gymnasts run towards the vaulting horse, place their hands on the top of the body and perform a variety of vaulting performances.
There is some risk of injury in teaching the vaulting exercises, particularly to younger children. To successfully complete a vault, a child may have to make over 2,000 attempts in the learning process to safely complete the vault. That is the equivalent of 20 vaults a day during three days a week for a period of eight to ten months. Various miscalculations on the part of the student gymnasts can result in injury wherein the body of the gymnast is hurled into the horse body or the supporting stand. Undercutting the body with the hands or overcutting the body with the hands can also result in serious injuries.
It is therefore a principal object of this invention to provide a training pad for vaulting horses which will insure the safety of the student gymnast while training for and practicing the vaulting exercise.
These and other objects will be apparent to those skilled in the art.